The “Ore, ore” (“It’s me”) fraudsters and their ilk, who telephone elderly people and pretend to be a relative in need of money to help them out of a jam, keep coming up with new scams. One might say Japan is a target-rich environment. ...

What is “moral education”? Assuming we more or less know what education is, try defining “moral.” The education ministry’s website takes a stab at it: “A heart-and-mind (kokoro) that values life, a heart-and-mind that is considerate toward others…” That’s unimpeachable as far as it ...

First came what the tabloids referred to as “W-jinin,” the resignations of two female Cabinet members — Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yuko Obuchi and Justice Minister Midori Matsushima — on the same day. The “W” in this case conveys two nuances: the first ...

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Yu Iwamoto began adult life working in the slums, refugee camps and precarious schools of Afghanistan. Had he even heard, back then, of the Oki Islands off the coast of Shimane Prefecture? He may have. The little archipelago is remote but famous. Political rebels ...

If the items you purchase these days seem more expensive, you’re not imagining things. Electric bills are higher. The price for a liter of gasoline or diesel fuel has gone up, with costs being passed on throughout the distribution chain. The raising of the ...

Beheadings. Dismemberings. The world is turning into a horror movie. The Islamic State immediately comes to mind. Terrorism is nothing new, but the Islamic State has amplified terrorism’s emotional impact — perpetrating, boasting of and broadcasting atrocities ranging from the mass slaughter of innocents ...

Japanese often cite an old aphorism that goes, “Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu” (“It is a foolish bird that defiles its own nest”). This can be taken to mean that a departing person should not leave behind a mess. What kind of mess? Well, ...

Why are people unhappy? Think back to just about any historical period you like, from the remote past to times within living memory; imagine people then looking at us now and saying, “How dare you be unhappy? You haven’t earned the right!” It’s hard ...

The first case of dengue fever was reported on Aug. 27. As of Friday, the number had increased to 141 people in 17 prefectures — not one of whom had traveled abroad. If the asymptotic or unreported cases are included, it’s quite possible that ...

“The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable.” So much for sex — or so much for the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, the 18th-century British statesman who in that little epigram immortalized his trenchant wit — though not his philosophy, for ...

“What’s so exasperating for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry … is the current situation in that platforms, terminals and apps have become dominated by foreign entities,” remarked an unnamed writer for a trade publication. ...

You are not alone. You are never alone. Is that comforting, or terrifying? It’s up to you. But Josei Seven magazine writes about “our surveillance society” in these terms: “Take one step outside your house and wherever you may be — on the street, ...